Girl Meets His Family
by alliemdex
Summary: Shawn brings his girlfriend to meet his family and it is the beginning of some major milestones in his life.
1. Chapter 1

Girl Meets his Family:

Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine.

It had been an intense day of meeting and showing my portfolio to various people. It is a weird feeling being courted by a company, everyone telling me how amazing my work was and how much they loved it. It was a start up company with a lot of potential. I used to work with the CEO and he wanted me to come work for him. I wasn't quite sure though, it would be a big move and I wasn't quite sure if I was ready for the move. Moving coasts, up routing everything I had built. For a gypsy military brat, I had definitely become grounded in one place. But there were tons of reasons why this was a good idea. So here I am sitting on a subway going downtown to have another meeting, but this time it wasn't business, it was personal. I don't know why meeting his friends made me so nervous. Maybe it was because I heard how close they were, I could not even imagine what that was like. To know somebody that long and still be friends. I think I am more nervous meeting them then I was meeting Shawn's brother.

So here I am sitting on the train, hoping that this goes well. Two young girls get on the train and start giggling. I remember being that age, just starting to stretch your legs and get your freedom. I wonder what it would be like growing up here. One of the girls notices me and smiles. I smile back. There is something kindred there. Kindred, I remember growing up and hearing that term. Reading Anne of Green Gables and wanting to have that type of relationship with a friend. But that wasn't my life, every year or two I moved and I acquired a whole new set of friends. I never really got to have that kindred feeling. Even with my ex-husband. With him, it was much more he fit the picture of who I was supposed to be. But there wasn't much behind the image. It was shallow. Perhaps that is why we didn't last. We didn't grow together, the only common thread was our heritage and our daughter. We were good at that moment in time and then after that no connection.

The girls get off at my same stop and I let them run past. I am early anyway, no need to rush. It was different with Shawn. I had met him two years prior and we just started talking. Nothing serious, he would just call me sometimes and we would hang out when he was in town. I remember trying to explain our relationship to my mother, she didn't understand. It was like Shawn was my best friend, who I had known forever. There was something romantic there, but both of us were too scared to act on it. Then last year, after the holidays, something changed. He came back and it was something new. It was like he looked at me differently. I don't know what happened in New York, but he finally got the courage to try something. And at our first kiss, I did too. We both giggled after it and then I kissed him back. And that was that, we were now defined and I finally knew what kindred meant. We weren't alike, but we fit. Like you know how you go into a house and you get a vibe like this is meant to be. It makes you calm and happy all by just entering. That is Shawn. He just had to smile at me and I was happy. So now another holiday is here and I am thinking about moving across the country for a new job. I don't quite know what this would mean for us, all I knew was that I wanted Shawn with me. And that meant I had to get along with his friends.

I check my phone and I still have a couple of minutes, I pop into a small bookstore. I get another text from Noah with a question and then a cute picture. That would be reason number 2 for moving here, Ellie. It would be nice for her to get to know her dad. For him to see what being a parent was like. It was too easy for him with me in San Francisco. He could come in for dinner but leave in the morning, no commitment. The first night he stayed at my house, when Shawn was living with me was interesting. You would have never imagined that Noah was Ellie's dad and not Shawn. Shawn with Ellie just fit to. She liked him the very first time she met him. I remember one night before we had started dating, I had to work late and asked Shawn if her could pick Ellie up and take care of her until I got home. I didn't end up getting home until midnight. I came home to a quiet house with the tv was on and both of them asleep on the couch. Ellie was cuddled with a blanket around and Shawn was sleeping with his head on hers slightly. I got that vibe, that this man was right and I needed to work to make sure he stayed in our life.

I get another text, saying that they are already at the restaurant and questioning if everything was all right. I think Shawn was just as nervous as I was about this meeting.

I take a breath and leave the store and start walking towards the restaurant. Shawn said it was a local place they liked to go to sometimes. As I walk in, I see a large table in the back, with the two girls from the subway sitting with the Shawn and his friends. So that must be Riley and Miya. Shawn has his back to me and is checking his phone. It's not me who he is texting though. Corey notices me and smiles.

"You must be Natalie?" He asks as I walk closer to the table. He gets up and immediately hugs me. Its weird, 5 brothers and I think I can count on my hands how many times they have hugged me. But here is Corey hugging me like he has known me all his life. I wonder how much Shawn has told him. Next thing I know I being hugged, by who I am assuming is Topanga.

"It is so good to finally meet you." The woman says and smiles at me.

Shawn gets up and gives me a quick peck on the cheek. "So this is Corey and Topanga." He points to them. "And their daughter Riley, her friend Miya and their son Auggie, who is 5." He rubs my back as he says this, Ellie is 5.

"Hi" I wave awkwardly at them all. We all sit down again and there is silence.

"So, I ordered you a beer, is that good?" Shawn says squeezing my leg a bit.

""Perfect." I smile back at him.

"So how was your day?" Everyone stares at me when he asks.

"It was good. They presented me with some interesting scenarios. Tomorrow they are going to send me the numbers, so we'll see." It was an interesting meeting, there was a lot of potential to grow and build something out of nothing.

"So what do you do Natalie?" The blond girl Miya asks me in a tone that feels a little like I am about to be interrogated.

"Watch it with this one, she's feisty." Shawn whispers in my ear. I smile at him. He has told me about her of course. How she reminds him of himself.

"I'm a brand manager. I take an idea and make it marketable and profitable."

"She's also an amazing artist, you should see her work." Shawn adds.

"Really." Topanga smiles at me. "Shawn said you went to art school"

"Yeah, I went to RISD for graphic design and then Northwestern for my MBA."

"And he also said that you traveled a lot as a kid."

"Yep, my dad was in the air force, so we traveled everywhere."

"What is the coolest place that you have lived?" Riley asks smiling. She has her mom's smile.

"Probably Iceland. I loved it there, it was a definitely a different experience. But Turkey was also nice."

"You lived in Iceland?" Auggie asks.

"Yep."

"Is it really all ice?"

"Not all, but there is a lot of ice." I smile at him.

"Wait so where have you lived?" Miya asks.

"Well I was born in Israel, and from there I have lived in Colorado, New Mexico, Turkey, Norway, Alaska, Japan, Hawaii, Iceland and then DC. But as an adult I have only lived in Rhode Island, Chicago and San Francisco."

"Wow, so that is what you and Shawn have in common."

Shawn coughs, "Actually she doesn't really like to travel much." I nudge him.

"I like to travel, just not all the time. I had my gypsy years and I like to stay put when I can." I shake my head at Shawn. "He says we don't travel, but we just got back from Chicago a month ago, visiting his brother for Thanksgiving and then mine in Utah for Hanukkah. And I am working on figuring out a trip to Iceland. One of my best friends lives there and I would love for Shawn to see it."

"I am not saying there is anything bad about not being a gypsy. But you would just think with all of your travels, that you would enjoy it more."

"Shawn doesn't get it. I went to 12 different schools when I was a kid, in 4 different continents. I was constantly reinventing myself. Every school I was something new and tried it out. I didn't get a choice where I wanted to go and we never fully unpacked. The only constant in my life was my family and I had 5 brothers, so I was always tagging around and being forgotten about. I used to dream of having the childhood that Shawn did. Growing up in the same town, with good friends who knew you and you didn't have to hope that maybe this was the year that you weren't the outsider. And I know Shawn dreamed of my childhood. So we are fair. I can live vicariously through his stories and he can live vicariously through mine."

"Wait you had 5 brothers?" Topanga asks.

"Yep and I was the baby. So you can imagine how that went."

"Must make for interesting holidays."

"Yep, all of my brothers are married with at least 2.5 kids. There is and will never be quiet at my parents house." The waiter comes by and asks if we are ready. I haven't even looked at the menu. Shawn has though and tells me about the kielbasa and pirogues. I smile and realize that they picked this place for me. He gets another text on his phone and just kisses my cheek as I try to look at it.

"So Shawn tells me that you are a lawyer Topanga?"

"Yep, corporate law."

"And Corey, you are a teacher?"

"Yeah I teach history."

"And you have Riley as a student? That must be interesting."

"Oh it is." Riley speaks up. She begins to tell me about their newest lesson and everyone chimes in. It was an interesting dynamic, very casual and close knit. In my family, dinner tables were always very serious. My father pop quizzed us and sometimes we had debates but it was always serious.

Shawn is talking with everyone and then notices that I have gotten quiet. He rubs my back and whispers. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am good." I kiss him and lean into him. I notice Topanga watching and smiling. I don't see what Shawn mouths to her, but she smiles back at me.

The food finally comes and we are half way through eating, when Shawn gets a text and excuses himself from the table. I watch him walk outside on his phone. A few minutes later Shawn comes back with Ellie in his arms. She has buried her head in his shoulder. Her bag is in his other arm.

"Wait what?" As I get up and walk towards them. "Where is he?"

"I think we can give him an E for effort" Shawn teases.

"What happened, I thought they were doing good?"

"Noah just didn't want you to worry. Ellie kept texting me that she was bored. Apparently he had an emergency surgery and had to go in. So he brought her back."

"I just don't understand him… how can he" Shawn kisses me to shut me up. 'Not now' he mouths and I breath.

"So missy, have you had anything to eat?" I change my tone, so that she doesn't know I am mad.

"I had a hot dog." She says quietly. Still with her head buried in his shoulder.

"And when was that?"

"At lunch." I check my watch and it is 7. Seriously her father didn't feed her dinner.

"Well then I think some food is required." Shawn picks her up higher and walks back to the table, in which everyone is watching us. "Everyone this is Ellianna, Ellie for short. Ellie, this is everyone." They all say hi and Ellie smiles shyly. Shawn sits down with her on his lap and for the first time I notice what he had ordered. A grilled cheese sandwich with French fries. And only half is eaten.

"Did you know he was going to bring her?" I whisper.

Shawn smiles at me "I was starting to wonder, so just in case I wanted to be prepared." He then tells Ellie what there is to eat.

I mouth to him that 'I love you' and he winks back at me. "We were trying to have Ellie, stay with her dad this week. That was another thought about moving here. She doesn't get to see him much and it would be nice for him to get to know her a bit."

"So they don't see each other much." Topanga asks.

"No. He moved to New York when she was about 18 months. And his schedule doesn't really allow time for a lot for travel. So mostly he talks to her on the phone and facetime's her. But its just not the same."

"He tries." Shawn adds. I will never understand why Shawn always defends him. But he does.

"He kind of tries. Look Noah is a great guy, but his main concern has always been Noah. Looking back, we got married because it looked good for him and it was the thing you should do. We had Ellie because it made sense, but he wasn't every really…" Shawn squeezes my leg and I realize that Ellie is watching me. "He is just very busy."

"Ellie, what did you do today with your daddy?" Corey asks trying to help Shawn out.

"We went to the museum and saw a pyramid. But I didn't get a chance to really stay. Rebecca got bored and wanted to leave. Shawn can you take me back there?" I cringe at the name Rebecca, so that must be his new girlfriend.

"Absolutely."

"And Rebecca says there is a big tree that you can skate around. Could we do that too?" Shawn smiles. "Also there is a store with all of those dolls you got me, can we go there?"

"I think we will have to sit down and figure out what you want to see most. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, so we will be spending a lot of time at home."

Ellie smiles at him and then says "Its my first Christmas" and then she looks at everyone at that table and says "Shawn said that he talked to Santa and even though I am Jewish, Santa will come and see me this year."

Ugh, if my family heard her now. We had a long debate about it with my family. Poor Shawn was not prepared for that discussion, he had briefly mentioned that we were coming here for Christmas and my whole family irrupted. You would think that he had told them that he was converting her to a cult. Instead of simply, having her spend an actual Christmas with his family. Then came the whole debate about Shawn not being Jewish and then my mother started talking about how wonderful Noah was. Luckily the only one in my family who still thought this was my mother. It became a whole debate about where Shawn and I were going with our relationship and that choices would have to be made. Poor Shawn, he was not used to his personal life being discussed so openly. But he was a trouper and let me talk. The whole time holding my hand. He finally said that he didn't mean to cause an issue. We were going to visit his family, he didn't want Ellie to feel left out. And then he said something that shocked everyone. He said that he wanted Ellie to feel apart of his life and to know about where he comes from. He is in her life now and that is never going to change. He then stood up and walked outside. My youngest brother Aaron got up and walked out to get him. Shawn and I had never really talked about the future before. It always seemed like a discussion we weren't ready to have. I had honestly never thought about him not being in my life or Ellie's. And for the first time, he voiced that he wasn't going anywhere.

I don't know what Aaron and him talked about, but they both came back in together. And when I left Aaron hugged me and told me that I should keep Shawn. He was good for us.

"Why would Santa not visit you?" Auggie asked. Ellie and Auggie then proceeded to have a long discussion about the difference between Hanukkah and Christmas. It was really cute. We all just watched and listened. Every once in a while Corey and Shawn would interrupt with a factual correction. But it was cute.

After dinner, we went back to their house. Ellie went to Auggie's room to play.

"She's adorable." Topanga said.

"Yeah, she is pretty great. She adores Shawn."

"And he adores her." She smiled. We both looked over at Shawn, who was sitting on the bench with Corey, Riley and Miya. They were deep in conversation.

"I am really glad we finally got to meet. Shawn talks about you constantly. Its hard that he is so far away."

"Yeah, me too. I had a hard time really imaging how close you all were. But I get it now."

"You do? Because I don't. Never have. It was always just what it was." Topanga adds. We then start to talk about our respective careers and it turns out how we have a lot in common. I don't even realize how late it is until Riley comes over in pajamas and kisses her mom. I look over and Shawn is still sitting at the window talking with Corey, but Ellie is now in his lap asleep. Shawn kisses her head and looks at me.

"We probably should go." I stretch and get up. We say our goodbyes and get a cab.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"They liked you" Shawn says as the cab starts off to our hotel.

"Yeah, I liked them. I guess it makes sense that I would like them, I mean I like you…" I then kiss him. He gives me this look that says 'so then why' and I realize that he still is trying to figure out why I haven't answered him.

You see two days before we came, Shawn asked me to marry him and I told him I had to think about it. He seemed okay with that answer but the problem is my thinking about it is taking a while and I don't think Shawn understands why. Before I can really start the discussion, we are at the hotel. We walk up to our room and realize that we didn't really get a big bed for 3 of us.

"I can sleep on the floor." Shawn says reading my mind.

"No." I answer as he puts Ellie to bed and takes off her shoes. "We can fit. Besides she's small and I usually just sleep on top of you." He puts the covers on her and walks over to me and kisses me. It is not one of those pecks but a full solid kiss that makes me wish Ellie was still at her dads.

"I love you." He mumbles in between kisses. "I want more Ellie's." He says quietly and I smile. "And you're blushing." He smiles back at me.

"I don't, that would mean I would have to go back to Noah and that is not happening." Cold water, I just threw cold water on his thoughts. "Okay so tomorrow, what are the plans?"

"I was thinking we could have breakfast and then go over to the house for the rest of the day."

"Well I wanted to do a little shopping, so do you think you could go to the house with Ellie and I could do some shopping and then meet you there?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"So Corey's parents are coming at what time?"

"I think 4."

"I wanted to go over what Steve proposed today with you sometime tomorrow. Maybe after he emails me the numbers we can maybe talk about what we should do."

"Did you like it?"

"Yeah, it was nice. It would be very different. I would have a lot more freedom and creativity. But it would be a change and I don't want to make it without you. So that would mean you would have to come too."

"You know I am flexible, I can do my work anywhere."

"You know what I mean."

"And I think you know where I stand on the subject." He kisses my nose. "The main question is where do you stand."

"Shawn, I know you want me to give you an answer, but I truly am thinking about it. And its not you, that I am questioning. It's the whole marriage thing. I never thought I would do it again. It's a big commitment and let's be honest, I don't have a good track record. I do know that I love you and that is one thing I am not questioning, it's the institution that I am concerned about."

"I know that but I don't understand how you could be so scared of a contract. It just makes things official."

"I just need a little more time. Can you give me that?" I give Ellie a kiss and crawl into bed.

"I can give you that. I just want you to know that I am serious. I am not going anywhere. Marriage or not, you are stuck with me. But I would prefer the marriage route." He smiles and gets in bed next to me. I move next to him.

"I know that. I love you Shawn Hunter."

"I love you too, Natalie Cohen." He kisses my head and squeezes me. After some time in silence, we fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

I wake up early and lay there watching him. I have been doing that lately, watching. Wondering what our kids would look like, what he would look like when he was 80. I am so confused, I can think about our future together and want to have a future together, but the second the word marriage comes up I want to run. I wasn't a good wife, I did not have a good marriage. After having experienced it, it scares me. Noah was the perfect guy and we were the perfect fit. But it wasn't perfect. Far from it. And Shawn is not the perfect guy or the perfect fit, but somehow we are perfect together. I get out of bed. I need to run, clear my head. Why am I so scared to say I will marry him. I had no idea why it was freaking me out so much. The run was good. I like New York, always have. When I get back to the hotel, Shawn and Ellie are up.

"How was your run?" He asks.

"Good. They have some breakfast downstairs, want me to go grab some."

"No, I'll go and get it. You take a shower. Munchkin, what do you want oatmeal or cereal."

"Cereal please and hot cocoa." Ellie asks politely.

"I shall return." He closes the door behind him.

"Ellie while Shawn is downstairs, I need to ask you something." She looks up at me with the sweetest face, like she is trying hard to be serious. "You like Shawn, right?"

"Yep." She nods.

"Would you want Shawn to be a more permanent thing?" She looks at me confused. "Do you want Shawn to be around forever with us."

"Yes." She says confidently. "Can I tell you something?"

"Okay." She leans in and whispers in my ear.

"I wish Shawn was my Daddy."

"You do? But what about your daddy?"

"He is not a real daddy, like the kids at school have. Shawn acts like a real daddy and plus he is really good at making me hot cocoa. He knows how I like it."

"He does, doesn't he. So can I tell you something, Shawn wants to be your Step-Daddy. He asked me the other day if we would marry him, what do you think?"

"Can I be a flower girl?" She smiles.

"You can. But what do you think about marrying him. Do you like that idea?"

"Yep." She grins bigger.

"Really?"

"I like having him with us." It was simple for her. She liked Shawn and it makes sense that he would be her daddy. "Mommy, do you not want to marry Shawn because he is not Jewish?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because when we were at Safta and Sabba's house you were all talking about it."

"No baby, that isn't why I don't want to marry him and you shouldn't be eavesdropping."

"Good, because I can teach him to be jewish. He can come to my classes."

"Mommy does want to marry Shawn, she is just scared of it."

"Shawn says that when you are scared of something, you have to face it. Like when I thought there was a monster under my bed. He made me come and look, so that I could see that there was nothing there."

"Yeah, he's pretty smart. Thank you for telling me your thoughts. They mean a lot to me and I want to make sure that you are happy with whatever decision I make." I hear Shawn's knock on the door.

"Okay so breakfast is served. Cheerios for the munchkin with hot cocoa. And some oatmeal for us." He looks up and squints. "And you have not taken a shower yet."

"Nope, I thought that I would not take one today. Thoughts?" As I stand up and try to hug them.

"As much as I love the smell of sweat on you, I think I would like you to shower."

"Fine, you are a party pooper though." I pout and head to the shower. When I get out I hear Shawn on the phone.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Okay yeah I will ask." He looks up at me. "Nat, Topanga has some last minute shopping to do too, she wondered if you wanted to go with her?"

"That sounds nice, where should we meet." I finish getting dressed and we head out. I am supposed to meet Topanga at a nearby coffee shop and Shawn is taking Ellie back to their house. I kiss them both and Shawn tells me to play nice.


	4. Chapter 4

I grab a chai at the coffee shop, as I wait for Topanga.

"Hello." She smiles as she walks in. "How was your night?"

"Good, the hotel is great. So what shopping do you need to do."

"Nothing really, Shawn just said you wanted to go shopping a bit and I thought you could use some company."

"What about dinner? Don't you need to do stuff for it."

"Oh Corey has strict instructions on that. So we should be good. What were you looking for?"

"Okay, so this is sad, but its my first Christmas too. So I wasn't quite prepared 100%. I wanted to get something for your parents and then another couple of things for Ellie. She wasn't really supposed to be here."

"Okay, well I can help you out with that."

We start shopping and find a really nice vase for her parents and go into this cool fossil store for the kids. I end up buying too much. Then we decide to take a break and have some lunch.

"I still can't believe that you guys got married in college. How in the world does that work?"

"Corey's my best friend, always has been. It's not always easy, but we figure things out. Its funny because I really have never imagined myself with anyone else."

"When Shawn told me, I had a hard time imaging what you guys were like. In my family, marriage is very formal. And I always thought of it like that. I think that is why my marriage didn't work. It was formal and it just didn't fit me. I kept trying to make it work but it didn't."

"What happened to you and your ex?"

"We just fell apart. He was in med school and I had just finished with my MBA. I had this great job and then I got pregnant. He was so excited about it. But he was never around. I started to realize that he was about the image of a family, but not the actual family. He never came to any of my appointments and everyone in my family said that was normal. He was busy. But it was just lonely. When she was born, I took my maternity leave and he went to work the next day. That was fine because my sister's all came and my mom. And again they said it was normal. But it wasn't and it wasn't what I wanted. Ellie barely knew him. He didn't know how to change her diaper or get her bottle ready. It was weird. When she was 1, I got a call from the day care that she was having a hard time breathing and they were taking her to the hospital. I texted Noah and he didn't respond. When I got there she had this breathing treatment on and the nurse was trying to calm her down. Another nurse came in and when she read my chart and looked at me, I just knew. Noah was sleeping with her and that was why he was never home."

"I am so sorry."

"When Noah finally came to the room, I told him that I wanted a divorce and sole custody of Ellie. I remember him just looking at me and saying ok. Like it was nothing. My youngest brother came to stay with me while everything happened. He helped me to be strong. Then when Ellie was almost 2, Noah got this job in New York and he left. Shawn tries to give him the benefit of the doubt, but he doesn't try. He knows he should, but he doesn't know how."

"So is that why are scared of getting married again?" Topanga asks.

"Shawn told you?"

"So there is something you should know about our family, there is very little that is kept private. Shawn talked to Corey about it and then me."

I start to tear up a bit. "I don't really know why, and I know it is crushing him."

"He loves you. And Shawn has always wanted and needed stability. He didn't have it when he was growing up. I honestly thinks he doesn't know if he can do it. But he can."

"He is the best thing that has happened to me. And it just scares me to change that, you know. Mess up what we have now."

"So when Corey and I got married, we made a leap. It was so hard at first but we decided that we were a team and we could do it together. I had to let go and jump. And it was the best decision that I ever made. I had been gun shy for a period because my parents got divorced through our engagement. But Corey and Shawn, too, helped to convince me that I had to allow myself to be loved."

"So you are saying I should jump."

"I am saying that you need to trust yourself. Shawn is not Noah."

"I know. He is the opposite of Noah and that is why I love him." I could see why Shawn loved her so much, she was very easy to talk to. "When I met Shawn, I wasn't looking for a relationship. And he wasn't either. We were just friends and then one day he kissed me and it was done. I hadn't let myself realize that I was falling in love with him. With him it is never hard, we don't fight. He lets me be me and I let him be him. I never really thought about where we were going. It was just nice to know that he was there and that I had that finally. We never talked about marriage, so honestly i didn't think he wanted to ever get married. I always thought with how he grew up and his family that marriage wasn't an option. It probably isn't fair of me to just assume with him, but i did."

"When we were at my parents, something happened. He started to get territorial and protective."

"Do you want to know what happened?" Topanga asks.

"You know."

"Yeah, we talked about it. Well two things happened really. He realized that he was head over heels in love with you. I guess he was watching you with your sister-in-laws and nieces and a lightbulb went off and he realized that he wanted to grow old with you. Then he started to realize that your family was asking you a lot of questions about your relationship and making comments like they didn't approve. I think he realized that he was taking you for granted. He was assuming that you would always be there, but he got scared that maybe they would try to take you away."

"Why didn't he tell me any of this?"

"Shawn has a hard time with emotions. You have to drag it out of him. When he gets really upset, he runs aways from everyone and usually will do something to hurt himself. When he was talking, I could hear him doing it again. He started doubting whether he was good enough for you."

"Yeah he told me about some things in his past about his tendency to run away. That actually explains a lot. There was a moment where he got upset and went outside. My brother Aaron talked to him for a while."

"Yeah, Aaron helped him. Shawn doesn't want to lose you and he will be as patient as you need him to be. You just need to talk to him and tell him what you are thinking."

"I can see why Shawn values your friendship so much. Thanks, this helped me."

"Good." Topanga smiled. "We probably should get back. I timed Corey's kitchen work just long enough so he couldn't burn anything."

"Okay, but let me go in this shop quickly." I go into to this gorgeous card shop and buy a set of notecards.


	5. Chapter 5

When we get to the house. The Matthews are already there. Topanga introduces me to everyone. Shawn was upstairs with Ellie and Auggie. I walk into the room and both kids are telling Shawn something very important and he is trying to listen seriously.

"Hey." I smile as I stand in the doorway. Ellie comes running up to me and pulls me into the room and sits me down. I kiss Shawn. "Thanks for the setup."

"What she didn't have shopping to do?" Shawn mockingly replies.

"Funny man."

"Mommy, Auggie has told me all about Christmas and I think I like it better."

"And why is that?"

"Because you get all of your presents at once. I was trying to tell Abba this but he thinks that spreading out gifts is a better idea." She then walks up and whispers in my ear "Is it okay if I call him Abba?"

"Do you know what it means?" I smile at her and she smiles back at me. "Does Shawn know what it means?"

Shawn answers, "No idea. She started calling me that today. She asked if she could and I said yes. Please tell me it is not a bad word in Yiddish."

"You are very cute. It is father in Hebrew."

"Oh." He says, he is not quite sure what to say. "Is it okay for her to call me that?"

"I don't think that is up to me. That decision you two have to make. Ellie, you know what Abba means, right."

"Yes." She stands up and looks at me in the eyes.

"Do you want to call Shawn, Abba?"

"I told you this morning that I did." I smile, that is right from our conversation.

"You shouldn't probably ask Shawn again, now that he knows what it means."

"Shawn, can I call you Abba?" She is standing in front of him, doing the whole staring thing with him.

"I would love for you to call me that." And both of them get this big grin on their face and she hugs him.

"Okay well, Abba, I am going to go and see if Topanga needs any help and get to know the Matthews." I kiss the top of his head as I get up. He reaches out for my and and squeezes it. And I know I am going to say yes. I need to jump and he is a good bet.

I walk downstairs and into the kitchen. Corey has burned something and Mrs. Matthews is helping Topanga fix it. Corey's dad is talking to Riley and Miya. Topanga looks at me questioningly and I smile at her. She squeals and then comes and hugs me. Everyone looks at her, "What I like her?" Topanga shrugs off. I ask her for a pen and sit down at the table to write a note.

_Shawn,_

_There are few things that I can be sure of in life. But I can be sure that the moment you entered my life, you made it better. When I was a kid, I dreamed of having someone in my life with whom I could just be. I don't have to put on an act with you, you accept me for me. And I would say that you love me because of who I am. I know that I need you and that I am better with you. I love all of your imperfections and everything that you don't like about yourself. I love that. I love that you are harder on yourself than anyone else. I love the way you look at me, when you think i don't notice. I know I have frustrated you these past couple of days. I know you don't understand and trust me I don't really understand either. But I love that you are patient with me and let me be scared for a while. A wise man once told my daughter that you have to face your fears and a wise woman told me today that sometimes you have to trust yourself and jump. So Shawn, Ellie has a question to ask you…._

I folded the notecard up and put in an envelope and I stick it with his other present. I walk into the kitchen and try to help Topanga out, she hands me a glass of wine. Mrs. Mathews asks me some questions about me and my family. Its nice. Shawn told me how influential they were in his life and how good they were to him. I can see that they are good people.

"Mommy, mommy." Ellie screams as she comes running down the stairs. "Abba said that we were going to open a couple of presents tonight."

"She is very excited about this." Shawn smiles following behind her and Auggie.

"Who is Abba?" Mrs. Matthews asks.

"Apparently that would be me." Shawn smiles and wraps his arms around me.

"What does it mean?" She asks.

"Its Dad in Hebrew." Shawn tells her and I can feel him shake his head behind me. No I didn't say yes yet. I lean into him and squeeze his arms.

"Ellie, asked if she could call him that today."

"That's sweet." Mrs Matthews responds.

I look over and the kids are looking through all of the gifts. "So is that what Christmas is normally like?"

"You should see tomorrow morning, that is when the madness happens." Corey joins the conversation. "Did you two have a good time shopping?"

"Yeah it was nice. I always avoided the stores on Christmas Eve, but it is definitely very festive. I would love to have more time to look."

"Did you get that email?" Shawn asks.

"I don't know?" I walk over to my purse and pull out my phone. I have a couple of texts, one from Shawn, one from my mother and another one from Aaron. I check my email and Steve did email me. I sit on the window bench to look and Shawn sits next to me, waiting for my reaction. Its a nice number. I give the phone to Shawn to look at.

"Wow, are you that good?" I nudge him. "So what do you think?"

"It is a great offer. But is it worth moving, are we ready for that change. Am I ready for that change?"

"Those are good questions."

Corey then sits on the other side of me. "I think you should do it and there is an apartment for rent above us."

"You are biased." Shawn answers.

"Yes very biased, but I still think you should do it. Look at those two." He points to Auggie and Ellie. "I think they are becoming fast friends. Who knows that could be a future Topanga and Corey?"

With that Shawn gets up, "Ellie come here." Corey just made him nervous.

I grab him before he goes any further. Ellie just looks up and then returns to her exploration of the gifts with Auggie. "Shawn, I think there is plenty of time to worry about that later."

"Yeh, like when she is 30."

"Oh, you really are an Abba." I smile and turn his face towards me and kiss him. "I like this side of you." He kisses me back.

"Okay so what should we do?"

"Nothing, right now. Let's enjoy tonight and we can talk about it more tomorrow. Besides it looks like dinner is about ready."

We all head over to the table and eat. Its nice and comfortable. It is so funny how different our families are. After dinner, Topanga sends everyone over to the tree to open presents. She grabs a present for everyone and hands it to them. Everyone goes one by one. Riley gets a purse from her parents. Miya gets a camera from Shawn. And I swear it rendered her speechless. Finally Shawn Ellie and I are left.

"Shawn open yours." Topanga squeals a little when she says it.

"Okay." He opens the box first and its a picture that I had taken one day of Ellie and Shawn. They were both laughing at something and Shawn said it was his favorite. So I had edited it and blew it up "I love it, thank you." He kisses my check.

"And there is a note." Topanga adds.

"Wait, before you open the note. I need to confer with Ellie for a moment."

"Okay…" Shawn looks at me inquisitively.

I bring Ellie into the kitchen. "So you think this marriage idea is a good thing, right?"

"Yep." She smiles.

"Okay so in the note, I wrote that you were going to ask him a question. Can you ask him if he will marry us?"

"Me."

"Yes, you. I want him to know that we are united."

"Okay." She giggles a little and then hugs me. We walk back to the couch and everyone is watching us.

"Okay we are ready. You can open the card."

"What are you cooking up?" Shawn asks.

"Just open it." My hands start to sweat. I look over at Topanga and she is smiling at us. She then looks at Corey and suddenly everybody knows what is in the letter. Shawn looks up from the letter and there are tears in his eyes. He starts to say something. "Ask her?"

"Elianna Rosen, do you have something to ask me?"

She nods her head and looks at me. She takes a deep breath. "Do you want to be my Daddy?"

"You know I do. I thought we had already decided that."

"Good because I really want you to be my Daddy."

"So that is solved. Is that what you wanted to ask me?"

"Not all of it." She is squirming a bit and Shawn puts his arms around her to settle her. Ellie then put her arms on his shoulder and pulls him into her. "Do you want to marry Mommy?"

"Yes, very much but does Mommy want to marry me?" Now Ellie is confused she looks over at me and motions for me to come to her. She then whispers in my ear and I whisper back. She smiles.

"We want to marry you." Ellie smiles and I hear a little bit of cheers.

"Natalie? Are you saying 'yes'?"

"I think we did. See we are a team and she helps to make the decisions around her." He kisses me. "Shawn, I want to be happy and I want to do everything in my power to give you that. If being married is something that you really want ,then lets do it. Let's get married." Sean kisses me harder.

"This is going to be good." He says. Then there is a round of hugs from everyone


	6. Chapter 6

I smile as everyone is hugging me and Shawn. I step back a moment and breath, this is good. This family is good. Shawn smiles back at me as Topanga is hugging him. She whispers something in his ear and he smiles wider. I wonder what she said. He then walks over to me and hugs me. "How is your Christmas going?" I whisper.

"Has to be one of the best and its only christmas eve. I wonder what Santa will bring me." He grins. "Topanga asked if maybe Ellie wants to stay over tonight. You know so she can be here when Santa comes in the morning."

"Oh because of Santa?" I smile at him. "You are not obvious at all Shawn Hunter."

"Hey, I am the master of subtle." He walks around me and holds me. "Are you ready for this family?"

I lean back in his arms. "Are you ready for mine?" He kisses my shoulder.

"We need to tell your family."

"Do we have to? I mean maybe on our 10th anniversary?"

"Your dad has been waiting patiently for your answer."

I turn around and stare at him. "You asked my dad?"

"Yeah, isn't that tradition to ask the father?"

"And he was okay with it." I am trying to picture how that conversation went. My dad and Shawn get along but I know my dad has concerns. We are from two different worlds, he would say.

"Amazingly, he did. And then your mom got on and told me to be patient with you. I think they are starting to like me."

"I think they are starting to love you." I lean against him and kiss his cheek.

Riley walks up with Miya. "So does this mean you are moving to New York?"

"We haven't made that decision…" Shawn starts and then I cut him off, "Yes we are moving to New York." More squealing is heard, not from Riley or Miya, but from Corey.

"Hey I thought we were going to talk about it."

"If we are going to do this, let's do it big." I turn and kiss his nose. "You miss your family and you have spent too long being away from them. It is time for you stop running." I smile. Corey comes over and hugs me.

"So I guess we are moving East?" Shawn says to Corey.

"Yeah!" He says and they proceed to hug.

I walk over to Ellie, who is talking with Topanga and Mrs. Matthews. "Hey sweetie, good job with the question." She hugs me and I pick her up. I kiss her head. From the moment, they had put her in my arms, I was in love with her and wanted to make sure she was happy. "I love you, you know that"

"I know that Mommy." She hugs me and smiles. "I think I really like Christmas."

"I know you do."

"Hey sweet girl, we didn't even open your present yet." Shawn comes over and hugs us both.

She then reaches for Shawn and I give her over to him. "Do you know what I really want?" She then whispers in his ear. "Me too." He whispers back. "But I will have to work on that. How about we open your gift and then you can give Mommy what we got for her?"

She nods at him. They are way too cute together. "Okay everyone, the fun is over. Back to your places, we have more gifts to unwrap." Shawn mockingly barks and everyone sits back down.

"Okay so Santa sent you something earlier and if I think I am right, its that big package over there."

Ellie runs to grab it. And I look at Shawn, did he really get her another doll. Ellie comes back with the box and sits in between us as she unwraps it. It is another doll. "Well I figured that Rebecca needed a friend."

"Thank you Abba." Ellie is thrilled.

"Your welcome, can you get your mom her gift. Its in that bag over there." She goes and grabs it and brings it back to me.

"Shawn…" He just smiles at me. I open up the bag and there is a jewelry box. I open it and there is this beautiful necklace. "Its beautiful." I recognize the style immediately. My friend who is in Iceland, makes gorgeous jewelry. V"Did Johanna make this?"

"Yeah, I asked her to make you something. Do you like?"

"I love." It was beautiful silver necklace, with interlocking circles as a pendant. There are small diamonds on the circles and the word love is inscribed on them..

"Good, now I think there is one more thing in that bag." Under the tissue paper, there is another smaller box. My heart stops. "I figured you needed a necklace to go with that." I am almost scared to open it. I stare at the box and then look up at Shawn. I slowly take it out the bag and open the box. Inside is another one of Johanna's creations. Its a beautiful engagement ring. The ring itself mirrors the necklace. It is perfect. Simple, yet strong. I don't know what to say. "Your mom gave me the diamond. It came from your grandmother's engagement ring." I start crying, full on crying. I didn't think I would be so happy. I didn't think that he could be so sweet. Ellie hugs and me Shawn kneels in front of me. "Hey, this is good." I put my hands around his face and kiss him.

"This is really good." Ugh I can't believe I am crying. "I love this." "Wait, how long did you know about this for my mother to having giving you the diamond and Johanna to have made the ring?"

"That will be a secret." He winks at me. He takes the ring out of the box and takes my left hand. "Natalie Cohen, do you want to get married?"

"Yes." I smile and he puts the ring on my hand it is a perfect fit. I hold it up to look at it and then hold my hand out so everyone can see. "I can't believe you had Johanna make this."

"I was looking at rings with your mom and we couldn't find anything that looked right. She was the one who suggested it."

"Wait you were looking for rings with my mom?" I am so confused, my mother always acted like she was not a Shawn fan. And to find out that they went shopping together. "You are going to have to spill now."

"Do you remember when I went to Arizona for a week to visit that one resort?" I shake my head. "I only was there for a couple of days and then I went to visit your parents. It was nice actually, it gave us a chance to get to know each other without any distractions. Your mom and I went to every jewelry store we could find and couldn't see anything that was right. I even had Topanga looking here. Your mom suggested that I contact Johanna and get her thoughts. So Johanna sent us a drawing of this ring and it was perfect."

I am staring at the ring. "I can't believe you did all of that. I can't believe my parents knew and didn't say anything. I can't believe Johanna, didn't say anything."

"The truth is, I didn't know when I was going to ask you. I just knew that I wanted it to be perfect. Your parents just want you to be happy. That is why I got so frustrated when we went to visit your family because I had just gotten the approval of your parents and then your brothers come and put doubts in their mind about me."

I kiss him. I don't think I have ever been so happy. Ellie comes and sits in between us. The rest of the evening we talk and everyone tells me Shawn stories. It is amazing how close everyone is and how many stories there are. Shawn had told me about his childhood but it was interesting hearing it from everyone else. The funny thing is hearing how much of a ladies man he was as a kid, always having another girlfriend but never really anything serious, until Angela. I remember the first night Shawn told me about what happened when his mom left, how his dad left too and he stayed with Jonathan. He had been traveling and had called me to have one of our late night intense chats. It was before we were dating. Its funny to think back now on how silly I was to think we were just friends. Shawn would come over at least once a week and he always called when he was on the road. He had developed issues falling asleep and used our late night chats to wind down. I looked forward to those chats, or our movie nights as we lounged on the couch and watched tv. But the night he told me about his dad leaving was hard. I could tell he was crying a little. He hadn't told that story a lot and I could tell it was hard for him. I could not understand how a parent could do that. After he hung up, I slept in Ellie's room. The next time I saw him he stayed over and we both fell asleep on the couch. I remember thinking of his story. How could his father or mother do that? How could they leave him alone with a stranger? I am glad that he had the Matthews and Jonathan.

The Matthews are the first to show signs of how tired they are. Auggie is asleep on Mrs Matthews lap. Ellie though is still wide awake listening to all of the stores. Every once in a while she turns to Shawn and looks at him. Like she is trying to picture the story with the man in front of her. But even she shows that she is getting tired.

"Hey sweetie, we were wondering if you wanted to stay here tonight or if you wanted to go back to the hotel?"

Ellie looks at everyone and then at Shawn. "Hotel."

"Really?" I actually did not think that was going to be her answer.

"But if I go back to the hotel, will I miss Santa?"

Shawn picks her up and puts her on his lap. "Nope Santa is already slotted to come here today. We just thought that you might want to wake up here to see first thing what Santa brings?"

She thinks for a moment and then hugs Shawn. "But this isn't going to be my only Christmas right?"

I look at her and then Shawn and smile. She is amazing. "No baby, we are going to have lots of Christmas." I kiss both of them and Shawn mouths that we should go. "So I think we are going to turn in for the night." I announce and get up.

"Does Ellie want to stay with us tonight?" Corey asks.

"No, she decided she wants to stay at the hotel tonight."

Shawn responds as gets up and hugs Corey and I hear him say, "I think we just need some quiet family time. But maybe we can convince her to stay over tomorrow night."

I hug everyone before we leave and pick Ellie up. As we sit in the cab, I keep looking down at my hand.

"You still okay with this?" Shawn asks.

"Yes, more sure than ever." I lay my head on his shoulder.


	7. Chapter 7

The rest of the night was a blur. We were all so tired, that I am amazed that we got ready for bed. I woke up the next morning with my head on Shawn's chest. He was in the middle of the bed and Ellie was on his other side. Her head was on his chest too. I could feel Shawn stroking my back a little. I felt him breathing calmly. He was awake. I nuzzle my face into his chest and then look at him. He smiles back at me.

"Merry Christmas." I smile and kiss him.

"Merry Christmas. Did you sleep well?"

"Perfectly, and you?"

"I had my girls surrounding me, so I slept like a baby."

"Good. Shawn, I can't believe how you planned all of this out. How were you so sure about us."

"I just was." He kissed my head. "It was something I just knew, even when I first met you. But I was so scared to be in a relationship that I wouldn't even give myself the chance."

"Why were you so scared?" We had never really talked about his relationships.

"I didn't really have a good mentor. My father, was always in and out. He had a bad track record with women. And then me, I either dated a lot when I was a kid or I feel hard when I got a little older. But its funny, I was always trying to compete with Corey and Topanga's relationship. I wanted what they had so I kept trying to mimic it. But it never really fit with anyone. I started to doubt if I ever would find someone. Then I met you and it was suddenly easy. I found myself wanting to be with you, wanting to talk to you. I remember one day I was sitting at a restaurant in Birmingham and saw these two couples having perhaps the oddest conversation and all I could think about was telling you later that night. But I was scared that I would mess this up, so I didn't attempt."

"So what changed?"

"I came here for Christmas."

"I always wondered what happened here."

"Riley told me that I never really looked at her or talked with her. And she was right, I avoided both her and Auggie. Never really thought about it much. But she helped me to understand, that it hurt seeing her and Auggie because I didn't have that. In a way, I was still trying to compete. But I had lost. It took a 12 year old kid to remind me that I did want this and I couldn't keep looking away from it. So when I got home and saw you, I knew."

"I need to thank that kid." I look down at Ellie and confirm that she is still sound asleep. "You know its funny. Because after Noah, I didn't really trust myself to have a relationship. I thought that I must have done something to cause our breakup. I never really understood that it wasn't anything Noah and I did, it was just that we weren't right for each other. I didn't really understand that, until I met you."

"And how is that?" Shawn looked at me quizzically.

"That day in the coffee shop when we bumped into each other."

"I remember that day." He smiled. Shawn had bumped into me and I had dropped my purse. He picked it up and we started talking. We spent the entire afternoon in that coffee shop, talking.

"You smiled at me and I got this feeling that's hard to explain. But its like embarrassment and excitement all at once, I think my heart literally stopped for a moment. And then when we started talking, I was so interested in you. And every-time you smiled, I got that feeling. It was a nice feeling. I had never felt it before. I looked forward to your calls and was disappointed on the nights you didn't call. One night when you were over, Aaron called. I told him you were here and I couldn't talk. He asked me if I had kissed you yet. I tried to explain that it wasn't like that, but he said it just wasn't like that because I was a coward." Shawn smiles at that. "I remember hanging up the phone and walking into the living room and you smiled at me. And Shawn, if I had been a little more brave that night, you would have been in trouble. But I was still scared. And honestly, I was scared that you didn't feel the same way."

"Well we are a bunch of cowards."

"True, but I think we both needed time to heal and heal with each other. I don't know why I got so freaked out when you asked me to marry you. But it was never about you. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I guess I do."

"I needed to process it all."

"So what changed?"

"I think meeting your family. Seeing you with your family. And then seeing you with my daughter. You are the second best thing that has ever happened to me and I want to enjoy growing old with…"

"Did Santa come?" I hear Ellie whisper softly. I smile at Shawn. Santa is his thing.

"I think he did. Do you want to call Corey and find out?" Shawn answers and Ellie shakes her head. "Well then you have to get off of me and get me my phone." She gets up and runs over to the table to get the phone. Shawn dials Corey's number and hands her the phone.

"Hello, did Santa come? He did? Okay, I'll ask." She then looks at us. "Corey wants to know when we are going to come."

Shawn takes the phone and they have a conversation. I kiss Ellie and head to the shower. Half way through Shawn joins me. "Tonight, Ellie will stay with them." I smile as I get out and give him a kiss, a hard back against the wall kiss. "You are evil." He mutters. I smile again and get out.


	8. Chapter 8

When we do get to the house it is filled with commotion. The rest of Corey's family has come. His older brother and younger sister and brother. Along with their families. Shawn introduces me to everyone. He goes over and starts talking with Eric and Mr. Matthews. I head over to Topanga.

"Do you need help?" I ask.

"Yes. Can you chop up the rest of the fruit and put it on the table? I have the casseroles in the oven and the bacon is almost done. Then I got some scones and bread to put out too. Oh and coffee, would you like some coffee?" I smile, I can tell she is a bit overwhelmed. It is not a big apartment for so many people.

"Coffee would be key. Thanks. And it smells good." I pour two cups of coffee and bring one to Shawn. Eric mutters something and Shawn punches his shoulder. I help Topanga with the fruit. All of the kids are sitting around the tree looking at all of the presents. Ellie comes running up to me and hugs me. She then goes to Topanga and hugs her too. She then runs back to the kids.

"I wonder what that was all about?" Topanga asks."

"No idea."

Mrs. Mathews comes over and helps us finish everything. We put everything on the table, buffet style. So everyone can grab a plate and find some place to sit. I find out that we are going to out to Chinese later for an early dinner. The kids finish eating quickly and Riley distributes gifts out. There is pile in front of everyone. Everyone tries to pace out the gift opening, but its hard. The kids are all really excited and can't really control themselves well.

Shawn mumbles behind me, "Oh if your parents could see this?"

"You mean their granddaughter opening Christmas presents or the disorganization at which it is being done?" Shawn laughs.

"Both." He then opens an envelope from Riley. They are really well designed coupons for free babysitting.

"Riley did you make these?"

She shakes her head, "Miya did."

"They are really cool."

"Yeah, I know. She is good."

"Told you she was talented." Shawn replies. He then opens another envelope from Topanga and Corey and its a gift certificate to have a personal chef come to your house and cook. "Thank you guys."

Okay so the funny thing is that it is almost exactly the same gift we got for them. "Okay you two are scary." I whisper to Shawn.

"Oh get ready it gets worse." He smiles at me.

About another hour goes by of unwrapping presents. Ellie is all smiles at the end. She comes over to Shawn and hugs him, they talk about Santa for a minute. She then hugs me and whispers in my ear, "thank you for my gifts."

"Santa brought them for you."

She leans and whispers, "Santa is not real, I know that. I just didn't want Abba to feel bad if I didn't believe in Santa. I know that you are the ones who got me the gifts." I wink at her. She is a smart kid. "Can we call Safta and Sabba now?"

"That sounds like a great idea. Do you want to FaceTime them?"

"Yeah." Ellie grabs my phone and calls them. My father answers and it takes him a few minutes to figure out how to use the phone. I hear my mother in the background telling him what to do.

"Hi guys" I wave at them. Shawn is behind me and Ellie is holding the phone like a camera man. I put my hand in front of the camera and I hear my mother and father both scream a moment. They proceed to talk to me for several minutes in hebrew. I notice that the room is silent and everyone is staring at me. I forgot that it is not an everyday thing to break out speaking in another language. Shawn is used to it. His head is leaning on my shoulder. Every once in a while he tells me to tell them something.

Finally after several minutes, Ellie turns the phone around and begins to talk to them. She tells them about how she helped me say yes to Shawn. How Shawn is letting her call him Abba. She then talks about Christmas and her thoughts on it. She takes them on tour of the house and introduces them to everyone.

Shawn laughs, "they are going to be sea sick after this phone call."

"Probably." I laugh and then look around. Everyone is happy and chaotic. It feels comfortable. "So this is Christmas?"

"Yep."

"Is this how all of your Christmas's are?"

"Only with the Matthews family." Shawn kisses my neck. And I remember that this isn't his biological family, he is still technically their guest. He had told me once that Mr. Matthews had wanted to adopt him. But it just didn't feel right. I suddenly get warm all over. I am going to marry this man and give him a family.

We sit watching everyone for a while longer. Shawn laughs behind me. "What?"

"I was just picturing your family and mine together in the same room."

I look around and laugh. "That would be a lot of people."

"So do you really want to move here?"

I turn around and look at him. "Yeah I do. The job is a great opportunity. You would be closer to quicker flights for traveling. Plus it would be good for you to be near Corey and Topanga."

"And why is that?"

"Because it would."

"Okay, so I guess we should start thinking about where."

"I like this neighborhood and it would be nice for Ellie to go to the same school as Auggie."

"I agree. But I should probably warn you. Corey told me the apartment upstairs is for rent. So just be aware that conversation might happen."

I think about it for a moment. And I grab his hand and walk out the door. We walk upstairs. "This one?" He nods. I grab the door handle and start to turn it. Shawn pulls me back.

"What are you doing?"

"Let's see if it is open." And it is. The door is unlocked and we walk in.

"Well this feels safe and legal."

"Shush, its christmas, nothing bad could happen." The apartment is like the one downstairs only this is one floor. The kitchen is nice and open. There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms. One of the bedrooms is small. "This could be a good office for us."

Shawn walks around and nods. "And the bedroom is a nice size. With a little paint it could be a nice place. But…" He looks at me and puts his head on my should. "do you really want to live upstairs from Topanga and Corey."

"It could be nice."

"It could be annoying."

"How annoying could it be?" We walk back into the living room and Corey and Topanga are standing there. Shawn just looks at me, cocks his head and smiles.

"We had the landlord unlock it this morning. I know its not crazy big, but it is a good neighborhood, good schools, easy access to the subway. Really its great." Corey starts to list off.

"And really close to you all." Shawn adds.

"That is just a side benefit." Corey smiles.

"Look to be honest, I have been away for 13 years, I am not quite sure if I want to live this close to you all."

Topanga than pipes in. "But you would have easy access to babysitting from multiple parties and apartment hunting in New York is tiring. So it would be one less thing for you to worry about. You are going to be crazy busy moving, starting a new job, planning the wedding."

Shawn just looks at me, yep, they are good at this. He wants my help. I just put my hands up. "I am going to leave the apartment search to you. I would be good in a box."

"Coward and liar." He gives me a pouty face. "Look, the idea is tempting guys. But is small, we might want one more bedroom. And I have no idea how much it is. I would really want to look a bit."

"Why would we need one more bedroom?" I look at Shawn confused and he looks back at me. Trying to commute telepathically with me. Its not working.

"For guests." He finally says seeing that I am not getting it.

"Guests, what guests?"

"You know your parents?"

"My parents always stay in a hotel, you know that? We only have 2 bedrooms at home."

"And we had to keep my apartment so I had someplace to work. Look we might need an extra bedroom, okay."

Corey finally answers when he realizes that I am completely clueless, "He is trying to say for when you two have another baby."

"Oh." Okay, so now I am embarrassed. I hadn't even thought about that. A new set of fears flash before my eyes. Shawn reads my thoughts and hugs me.

"Hey, I just was thinking of possibilities. Plus I don't really know if this is the right place for us. I would like to look a bit." Shawn says quietly.

"Okay, but can we get married first. I don't think I can handle much more." I whisper into Shawn's neck, he kisses my cheek. Yep, I am going to give this man a family, I think. "We will think about it guys. But I think Shawn is right, we should look around a bit first. We also have to talk about what we want to spend and everything." I also had to sell my place, which shouldn't be hard. And then Shawn and I had to have a serious money talk. I was not a 100% aware of his finances. Then we had the wedding to think about.

As if we was reading my thoughts, "Okay let's take a breath and go enjoy the rest of Christmas."

And that is what we did. After a while, everyone was bundled up and out to dinner. At dinner, I start to get the texts from my family. A lot of congratulations and some ?. But when Aaron calls, I pick up and excuse myself from the table.

"Hey you."

"Congratulations." He answers.

"Thanks."

"You made the right choice. He is good for you and you are good for him."

"Yeah, I think so."

"So are you going to take the job?"

"Yeah, its a great offer and I think it would be good for us to be here for several reasons"

"I think so too. San Francisco has a lot of memories. Plus you would be closer to me." I could hear Aaron smile over the phone. He lived in DC and has always tried to convince me to come east.

"That is an added bonus. Hey Aaron, I probably should get back inside. Can I call you tomorrow?"

"I forgot, its christmas! How is that going?"

"Good. It is interesting. Its not as religious as I thought would be. Actually there has been no mention of religion. It is more of a family thing."

"Yeah, that is what I had heard about it. Hey, I am going to send you a list of Synagogues in the area. My friend Micah, is a Rabbi at a synagogue near where Shawn's friends live. You could check it out tomorrow for services." Seriously its a conspiracy. "Love you Nat."

"Love you too Aaron."

"And give that kid of yours a kiss and say hi to Shawn."

"Will do. The same goes to you."

As I walk back to the table, I watch everyone for a moment. Everyone is so happy. The kids are at their table and Riley seems to be holding court. At the adult table, its Eric. As I sit back down, Shawn looks at me and I smile and mouth 'Aaron' to him. He kisses my cheek. The dinner winds down and everyone starts to realize that they should get going.

I notice that Shawn is talking with Ellie about something. He is convincing her to stay with the Matthews tonight. She keeps looking at me and thinking. Finally I walk over.

"So we have decided that Ellie is going to spend the night with Riley and Auggie. I am going to run and get her things as you all go back to the house and say goodbye. "

"Okay, that sounds like a plan. Do you like that idea Ellie?" She shakes her head. Maybe living next to Corey and Topanga would be good. It would give Ellie a sense of family.

The rest of the day was full of hugs and goodbyes. We helped Corey and Topanga clean up while the kids played in their rooms.

"So tomorrow, I had an idea. How about Corey, you and Shawn take Ellie and Auggie out sight seeing. And we can take Riley and Miya out shopping?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I was hoping that we could maybe go to temple on Friday night. My brother's friend is a rabbi around here."

"That sounds good." Shawn adds. He comes to temple with Ellie and I routinely and although I don't think he would convert, he appreciates it and wants to be with us when we go. Or so he says. "We could check out the school and see if she likes it too."

"Then its a plan." Corey says as he finishes with the last dish

"It is getting late and we probably should be going. You sure you two are good with watching Ellie tonight?" Shawn double checks one more time. But I am assuming it is more for my benefit than his. He knows they are okay.

"It will be fun. Riley is actually really excited about it." Topanga answers looking at me.

"Okay so I am going to go say goodbye to Ellie and then you want to come in a minute." I say to Shawn and he nods.

I talk to Ellie for a few minutes and make sure that she is comfortable. She has my number and knows how to get a hold of me. We hug and Shawn comes in. They hug and whisper to each other something. Then she comes and gives me one big hug.


	9. Chapter 9

The ride back to the hotel is quiet. I don't leave Ellie with people very much, so I am trying to not act like its a big deal. But I know that Shawn and I need some alone time. Its just a little hard. He holds my hand and squeezes it. I lean my head on his shoulder. And we are just quiet the whole way.

Walking up to the hotel room feels weird without Ellie. We still haven't talked at all.

"So…" I start.

"So…" He starts. And then we both laugh.

"Is this our first date or something?"

"I don't think so, but I am little nervous. Are you sure that you want all of this?"

I kiss him and cup his face with my hands. "I have never been more sure about anything else."

"Because a lot has happened in the past two days." I just start to kiss him to shut him up. That doubt that always nags him, is there and I need it to go away. Kissing him is the surest solution to that.

I wake early the next morning and can't go back to sleep. So instead of trying, I get out my computer. I know I should check my emails and get in contact with my family, but that just seems so much right now. I look over and Shawn is still sleeping. So I decide to do some apartment hunting. I haven't done this in a while. The place I am living in now, I purchased after my divorce. I got a great deal on it and I know it is worth 3 times what I paid. But I wasn't quite sure how much places in New York cost. So i started looking and sticker shock was there. We could afford them, but it was just so sad that this is how much places cost.

There were several apartments in the east village, not very many of them had 4 bedrooms. Some of them looked interesting, but you never really know from the pictures. I wonder how much that place above the Corey and Topanga's was. I start to look for it.

"The landlord hasn't listed it yet. The past tenant moved out last week. Corey said its $4500 a month. Which is ridiculous, but …"

"It sounds better than the ones I am seeing. How did you know I was looking it up?"

"Because I know you babe. Corey said the landlord might reduce the rent if we make a two year commitment."

"With those prices, I wonder if we should try to buy instead."

Shawn sits up and rubs his eyes. "I don't know if we should do that when we first move here. Let's rent and see if you like the job, like the neighborhood and everything."

He sits closer to me. And kisses my shoulder. I am wearing one of his t-shirts. "Why did you put clothes on?" He whines.

"Because I was cold."

"And why are you looking up apartments at 4 in the morning."

"Because I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Hmm."

"Do you want me to stop looking?"

"Yes and come cuddle with me. We have time to look for places."

"I know, I just…"

"You couldn't turn your mind off." He proceeds to close my computer.

The next morning, I wake up and untangle myself from Shawn. I go in the bathroom to brush my teeth. I normally take my birth control pills at this time. But I look at the pack and decide to throw them out. I don't know how easy it will be for me to get pregnant. But I do know that I am not young and I should probably see what nature decides. I stand for a moment and look at myself, trying to remember what it was like and how it will be different with Shawn. I start the shower and let the hot water run over me. I am only in there a couple minutes before Shawn comes into the bathroom, I notice that he is just standing there for a while.

"Hey, were you planning on joining me?" Its then that I notice that he is staring at the trash. "Shawn" I ask. He looks up at me with a dumb-founded face. "Come in here." I command and he does.

"It doesn't mean anything. Just that I was thinking if we are thinking about more kids than I shouldn't probably get it out of my system."

"Okay."

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just didn't quite know where your head was at with all of that. We hadn't really talked about it before."

"I know you want kids. I have always known you wanted kids. It just never really clicked with me how you wanted to get those kids. Obviously you have talked about it with Corey. But you never talked about it with me. Why is that?"

"I don't know." I kiss him and put his hands on my stomach.

"I loved being pregnant, it was amazing and wonderful. It was also the loneliest time in my life. When they put Ellie in my arms, it made me strong. Somebody had put me in charge of this life and that was a gift. I don't know how it feels to love her and not have had that same experience. And I know you love her. But I also know that you have always wanted the normal family. I want to give you that. You are not your father."

"Are you sure?"

"I am."

"I love you."

"I love you too. But don't get too excited about what the pills mean. I don't know how hard it will be for me to get pregnant and there is always a chance that I won't be able to. I just thought I should give nature a chance first before we start worrying about anything else."

"I thought you weren't ready though."

"Shawn, pills are not the only form of birth control."

"Its the only ones we have right now in this room." He smiles. Shawn and I had stopped using condoms a couple of months ago, after our yearly physicals. He joked at the time, that this was his way of officially committing to me. It was weird but sweet.

"So Mr. Hunter, are you good with the plan today." I continue washing my hair and Shawn is watching me.

"Yeah, it will be nice to spend a day with Corey." We switch places and he starts washing his hair. "Maybe we could meet up for a late lunch."

"That would be good." I bite my lip figuring out how to broach the subject. "So what are your real objections with that apartment?"

He looks at me and thinks for minute. "I love Corey and Topanga and when we were kids I always thought we would live like that. But they can be intrusive and sometimes our relationship gets awkward for people who aren't in it. For a while, I was jealous of Topanga even and had a hard accepting that she was his wife and number one for him. I just don't want it to be a problem for us. I like us and what we have. It just worries me."

"But it would be nice. To have someone so close that we can depend on and hang out with. Plus you two have been away from each other for a while and grown. You aren't the same kids you were."

"That's true."

"I was just thinking, we don't really know the city. Its a nice neighborhood and is safe. Ellie would already know somebody in school. The apartment works for us right now. It fits into our budget. With everything happening it would be a lot easier to take it. Plus apartment hunting is a pain. And if we discover we need more room, we can work on that."

"I know… Can we just look at a couple first?"

"Deal."

I knew he still wasn't a 100% sold and he really wasn't telling me the real reason. Shawn had always been a really private person and he had a hard time saying his feelings. I knew that, it wasn't like he didn't want to live near them, I think he was really worried how it would affect me.

"Hey Shawn, you know I grew up with 5 brothers and my brothers were always in my business, non-stop. Even now, they are giving me advice and telling me what I should do. It doesn't scare me. Your relationship with Corey is not going to hurt us. He is your best friend and you love him. He has been there for you when you needed him and he knows you. I am glad about that. I really think it might be nice to have that close to us."

He kisses me. We are very late getting to the house. I spent the rest of the morning on the phone with my family. As we walk in the door, I am still on the phone with my oldest brother's wife. Ellie runs up and hugs me and I try to get off the phone. By my sister-in-law is very talkative and is already trying to plan the wedding. Its a whole 10 minutes before I can hang up.

"Okay so we are having a small wedding, only family. And it is going to be sooner rather than later. Or maybe just eloping, because I cannot handle a lengthy period of time with family advice. So far my sister-in-laws have all found different venues in various states. They all have various opinions on how big the wedding should be and how traditional it should be. My brothers are all worried about you not being jewish. Which my sister-in-laws have all solved by you simply converting. And I have not even begun to entertain their food and entertainment ideas yet." Everyone is staring at me.

Shawn walks up and looks me at me. "We will have the wedding that we want. Don't let the stress you out."

"As long as I get to wear a pretty dress." Ellie pipes up and runs in between us . Shawn picks her up.

"You will have the prettiest dress." Shawn replies and both of them smile their smile. "So why don't we get this day on the road. I think you and I missy have some pyramids to see and you my love have a shopping day ahead of you."

The rest of the week was perfect. Ellie got more and more excited about living here. We visited where her new school would be and we both liked the temple my brother had suggested. It was fun hanging out with Corey and Topanga. It was nice seeing Shawn with them. He smiled a lot and I knew he was really happy. I called and accepted the position. And on the day we left New York, we signed the lease agreement for the place above Corey and Topanga. Corey of course was ridiculously excited. Shawn was too.

The plan was that Shawn and I would move in early February. We both had to settle some things in San Francisco and get packed. Corey was going to help us get everything set up for us in New York.

As we said our goodbyes, I felt like I had made the right decision. That even though I was so scared about this commitment thing, I couldn't imagine being committed to anyone else. I was ready to jump but only as long as Shawn was with me.


End file.
